


kiss me once, twice

by radiant_stars (DreamyRequiem)



Series: don't think twice [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, KH3 spoilers, Multi, Sign Language, background terra/aqua, post kh 3 au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-14 17:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18952783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamyRequiem/pseuds/radiant_stars
Summary: Sea and Land team up.Wind, Scattered Memory, and Reflection make a move.Time to go find a missing Sky.





	1. rk; regretful decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta`d
> 
> also, make way for rikai content because gimme that sweet sweet riku and kairi interaction.
> 
> no i'm not salty people in the fandom are saying they aren't friends, leave me alone--

Riku was worried about Kairi.

This should be obvious, as they were both mourning Sora's disappearance. But Kairi had been...quiet, since she came back alone. Quiet in a way that he hadn't seen since they were kids.

That was what scared and worried him. It left him trying to keep as close as possible to her at all times of the day, hoping that maybe she'd say something to him. Yet nothing seemed to change. She just...seemed not entirely there when she was left to think.

He wasn't the only one worried. Riku was well aware that Kairi's father was beside himself at Kairi's behavior and was trying to figure out what was wrong. Which...probably wasn't helping much, considering they'd all agreed NOT to tell anyone else that Sora was missing at the moment.

Riku felt that maybe they were selling their parents short by not telling them but...he could understand not wanting to tell Sora's moms and dad about what had happened.

Of course, disregarding that, Riku was currently on the play island of Destiny Islands because of his worry for Kairi. He knew from Selphie that Kairi had come here for some reason or another. Likely because it was their nostalgia for their childhood that led her there.

Either way, Riku was going to talk to her even if it killed him.

(...Perhaps that was the wrong choice of words.)

He decided to search the island, starting with the raft. Or more importantly, what was left of their raft. Broken remains of it were scattered across the beach and some of the cloth was left tangled around the shard of wood. It was depressing, in a way that their work from all that time ago was just...gone.

Granted, it probably wouldn't have even worked, but it still felt bad.

Riku ran his hand through his hair with a light groan. Jeez...He could see that Kairi probably wouldn't come over here. It'd sting any of the three of them too hard so it didn't feel like something Kairi would want to see. Not when she was possibly already feeling pretty bad.

Turning away from the cove, Riku went back to the beach and glanced towards the secret place. He knew the place had always kinda creeped her out--which was fair, thanks to the door to their world's hear within it--but she might be there now.

It was hard to wiggle into the cave as the entrance was much smaller than he remembered--but then, he was taller than he used to be. He kept crouching as he made his way through the tunnel and into the cavern of the Secret Place. As soon as he passed into the cavern he was hit by a wave of nostalgia.

This place...he remembered drawing all these pictures all over the wall with Sora and Kairi as they grew up. Little drawings of tales of adventures and saving the world as well as just random doodles of just about anything.

Though, he thought as he ran his fingers along the castle drawing on the far left right, some of these seemed more familiar and far less like random doodles than we did when we first drew them.

Brushing his bangs out of his eyes, he turned around to the familiar drawings of Sora and Kairi and froze. It was not the drawing of the papou sharing that shocked him--he'd been aware of that since he'd first come to the play island after Sora went to sleep for a year. No, it was the furious scribble that practically destroyed the original drawing that hit him.

Who could've done this...?

The first person who came to mind took his breath away. "Shit." Riku muttered to himself. Did she blame herself so heavily for what had happened to Sora she'd do this?

Damn, damn, things were way worse than he thought if that was the case. Fueled with new determination, Riku tore out of the Secret Place and immediately started yelling for Kairi. There obviously was no response as he peered into the hidden nooks and cranies of the island as well as the more obvious places. Eventually he stopped to catch his breath.

Where could she be? He looked around from his spot on the beach: Riku had looked everywhere else and he had no idea where to look now. Where else could she be? Where else could he look?

His gaze was pulled to the islet just off the shore of the main play island.

Was she...there?

Riku found himself jogging over there, looking around the islet as he approached it. "Kairi?" He called out, feeling foolish. She wouldn't respond: If she was going to, wouldn't she have done that earlier?

But he heard someone shift in the sand and he decided to risk smelling for her. Riku hadn't touched that ability in months, not since he'd gotten his original body back, because of...well, fear that it'd drag gim back into losing his body again.

He twitched as Kairi's scent finally hit his nose, strong as ever. It smelled like sea water, flowers, and warm vanilla. Soft and kind but terrible if you anger her. Her scent was so strong that she absolutely had to be there.

"Kairi, I know you're there," Riku said softly, "Please answer me."

Riku moved over to the tree and peered down at the base where he saw Kairi's red hair first. She was curled up with her face buried against her knees and her shoulders shaking ever so slightly.

Okay, yeah, this was bad. He had no idea how to deal with crying girls but this was Kairi. His best friend: Of course he needed to do something.

He knelt down next to her and waited. Her shoulder shaking stopped and she finally looked up at him. The only sign she had been crying were her red eyes and the wet spots he could see on her skirt. He blinked as her hands started moving.

^Sorry, Riku, I don't want to talk right now.^ She signed to him.

Riku swallowed down his jumping heart. "Kairi...You know, it's not your fault," He said as Kairi ducked her head against her knees.

She didn't respond. He pursed his lips and scooted over next to her to sit down. "He...chose to do that, himself. You're not the reason he's gone. If we have anyone to blame, it's Xehanort." Xehanort, for killing you in the first place.

Kairi shook her head and sniffled. Riku reached over and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "Xehanort did that. Not you: You're not to blame." God, this sounded so familiar. Back then, though, he was telling himself that he wasn't to blame for what Ansem had done to Sora and Kairi.

"Would you blame me for the things Ansem did?" He decided to ask.

Almost instantly, with tears streaming down her face, Kairi signed rapidly. ^No!! Of course not!!^ Her fingers curled. ^Ansem did those things, not you!! You...okay, you did hurt Sora once, but he forgave you for that one thing so I do too. But the rest of that stuff was Ansem, not you.^

"Then why are you blaming yourself for things Xehanort did to you?" Riku asked seriously.

She seemed almost thrown by the question and Kairi seemed to struggle with the answer. ^Because...I could've fought back? I...I don't know. I could've done something.^ Even her signing seemed frustrated.

Riku sighed. "The way Axel tells it? There was no way you could've fought back. Xemnas literally twisted your arm behind and above you while pulling you up. Stars, Kairi, I'm shocked your arm didn't get broken or dislocated!" Just the thought of it made him cringe.

Kairi looked away and didn't sign anything. She just leaned her chin on her knees to stare out to sea, as if trying to see something on the horizon. Maybe she hoped Sora would just pop out of the sky, like he and Sora had after fighting Xemnas the first time.

Hesitating for a moment, he reached over and wrapped his arm around Kairi's shoulder. "I promise, we're going to find him," Riku whispered, holding on tight.

* * *

She blinked rapidly, pulling her head from Riku's shoulder. Kairi realized she must've fallen asleep at some point and--after casting a look at Riku--realized he had fallen asleep too. Shaking his shoulder, Kairi tried to talk and once more no sound came out.

Not being able to talk always made her feel powerless and this was no different. Being able to sign gave her a voice of sorts but spending years being able to have a real voice made this more difficult. At least it spoiled her anyway.

Finally Riku stirred beneath her hands and looked up at her. "Kairi...?" He mumbled.

^It's getting late, Riku. You need to go home.^ She signed.

Riku squinted at her. "What do you mean by 'you?'" Riku asked, catching on to her use of 'you' instead of 'we.'

She pursed her lips and stood up, turning to look towards the horizon again. ^I need to go look for Sora.^ It was her turn to save him, again. To look for him throughout the worlds.

Behind her, she could hear Riku getting up too. She tensed as he paused at her shoulder. He put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Kairi, we're going together okay? I...Sora has spent years looking for both of us in the past and it's only fair to repay that, right?" Riku was smiling as she looked up at him over her shoulder.

That was...fair, she supposed. But it didn't feel right to let him go with her, when Sora had given up everything for her. ^...I don't know, Riku...^

"I should've gone with Sora." Riku confessed. "I can use the power of waking too. But I just let him go alone, when I should've gone with him." His expression had twisted from a smile to grimace as if the thought hurt him.

Which was understandable: She'd feel the same if she was in his position. But Kairi still couldn't blame him for not going. ^It's okay, Riku,^ She signed.

Riku shook his head. "No, it's not. It's not okay, Kairi. If I had gone...maybe the two of us together could've pulled him out." He looked down at the water. "I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. But it would've been worth a shot and I didn't do it."

Kairi stared at him before she threw her hands around his shoulders in a tight hug. He stiffened in surprised before relaxing, hugging her back. They stood there for a while, just basking in each other's presence. All they needed was Sora, and...Everything would be a lot better.

"Oh, but there's something I want to do before we even think of leaving, alright?" Riku grinned at her as they pulled away from each other.

She blinked as Riku took her hand and pulled her away from the islet to the play island proper. It wasn't until she saw the familiar tunnel maw that she realized where he was taking her tot. Kairi wanted to sign at him, ask him what he was doing, but stopped.

Had he...seen what she'd done in a fit of grief?

Kairi winced. She regretted doing that but it wasn't something she could really take back. Once you destroy something like that, it was gone forever. So why was Riku taking her there?

He let go of her hand to duck into the tunnel and then held out his hand for her to take. Kairi hesitated before signing to him. ^Why are we going to the Secret Place? We can't...I can't fix the mistake I made there.^

"Maybe not," Riku said, "But there is something else we can do."

She bit her lip before taking his hand and following him into the Secret Place. Once they traveled through the tunnel, Kairi's gaze was immediately drawn to the destroyed mural of her and Sora exchanging paopu. She flinched at the damage she'd caused and wondered what Riku wanted to do.

He let go of her hand and approached the wall. Riku nodded to a large empty spot above the ruined mural. "Come here, okay?" Once more he held out his hand and Kairi took it without hesitation.

Kairi stepped up next to him and Riku passed over one of the rocks they used to carve into the walls. Riku was already carving in a new Sora drawing and Kairi hesitantly drew herself on the opposite side. As Riku began to copy the arms sharing paopu, Kairi pursed her lips.

The mural had always made her happy but there always seemed to be something missing from it. It wasn't until now, looking at Riku, that she realized just what it was that was missing.

Quickly finishing her part of the mural, Kairi waved her hand at Riku. ^Can you pick me up? There's something I want to do.^ Kairi signed after she got his attention.

Riku seemed confused but leaned over, gently picking her up and hefting her up. "What're you doing?" He asked as Kairi leaned up and started carving something above the new mural of her and Sora. It didn't take long to draw it but once she was done, Kairi proudly pulled away.

"Kairi?" Riku asked trying to see what she had drawn.

She tapped his shoulder and he put her down. Kairi dusted off her skirt as he stared, wide eyed the drawing she'd done. "Kairi...Why...?" Riku asked, sounding baffled by the addition.

At the top of the mural was a drawing of Riku, proudly displayed with the other two. ^It always felt like something was missing, even when it made me happy.^ Kairi signed. ^And...I realized what it was. We're not really whole without all three of us, you know?^

Riku stared at her and then suddenly looking away. She studied the ceiling as she politely ignored his tears. Once he was done, Riku cleared his throat. "I. Kairi? You know I care about you and Sora. I don't--I don't want to really get between that."

Kairi pursed her lips at him. How could she explain that he wouldn't? That she was certain Sora would be delighted with the Riku joining them? Especially as there was no way to confirm it without Sora there...

Oh, she had an idea.

^I don't think you'd get in the way of anyone, Riku.^ She signed. ^But If you don't believe me...How about we wait until we find Sora and we talk about it together then?^

Riku opened his mouth as if to argue but stopped as she gave him a stern look. "Alright. Alright, you win." He gave in with a wry laugh. "When we find Sora, we'll talk about it." Riku looked back up at the mural, the emotion on his face still....indecipherable.

Dumb boys, Kairi thought, didn't they knew she loved them both? Yes, she had shared a paopu with Sora--but at the time, she had thought Riku didn't care for her in that way any longer. That he only saw her as a friend now.

Guess she was wrong about that.

Clapping her hands together, Kairi signed. ^So, shall we head back to the main islands to get ready for a trip?^

"It'll be a long one, if Sora is out wandering the worlds too, you know," Riku said warningly.

What did he think that would be enough to scare her off? ^Sounds like fun!^ She signed confidently. ^This'll be my first time getting to travel the worlds out of my own free will, so I think I'll have a little fun while we search for Sora.^

Well, probably not. Kairi was fairly sure she'd be too anxious about Sora's fate to be able to relax enough to have fun. At least she can enjoy time with Riku along the way.

Riku sighed. "Alright, alright. You're so pushy you know? That's probably where Namine and Xion got it." He teased with a grin.

Kairi stuck her tongue out at him and gently pushed him. Riku laughed and ruffled her hair and she waved her hands to get him off her. He pulled back and smiled at her. "Alright, alright. How about we head back to the main island and get ready? We...need to say goodbye to our parents before we go."

She made a face but nodded. Her father was getting more and more protective with every journey she takes off the islands so she didn't look forward to that conversation at all. ^Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's go.^ Kairi signed with a tight smile.

Here's to hoping her father didn't freak out about her wanting to go find Sora.

* * *

Riku puffed out as he waited just outside his door. He had kept it to himself but he was worried about how his parents would react to him leaving the islands again. It likely wasn't as bad as Kairi's situation--considering she had vanished up to four or five times since the islands were destroyed--but Riku was nervous none the less.

His parents had always had...expectations of him. To take over the fishing business, to bring it higher heights than it had been in years, to marry someone with another fishing to expand business theirs. To be their perfect heir.

Too bad all of Riku's interest had been and always will be to spend his life with Sora and Kairi.

Taking a deep breath, Riku decided he just needed to do get it over with. Rip the bandaid off and move on. It wouldn't be easy but it was better than stalling outside the front door.

Pushing the door open, Riku cleared his throat. "Mother, Father?" Riku called out to his parents. They were likely in the sitting room if they weren't doing anything but he was aware his father might be in his study. As for his mother, she was likely getting dinner ready.

He made a face: If she was making dinner, she'd be upset he hadn't gotten home sooner. She'll question it and push until he responded somehow. It usually resulted in him yelling, though that didn't happen as much as it did when he was younger. Riku had a much better hold of his own temper now than he did when he was fifteen.

"Riku!" His mother appeared from the kitchen, her head tilted in a frown. "Why are you so late? You should've been back an hour ago."

Riku never said he was going to be back by then. "Sorry," He said apologetically, "I was talking with Kairi--Which...I need to talk to you about that." Ugh, he could already feel the uncomfortable and awkward talk they were about to have.

Frowning heavily as him, his mother said, "Can we not talk about it after dinner?"

"No. I need...to talk about this now." Riku let out a breath as his mother's expression twisted. As usual, she didn't look happy about him all but talking back to her.

Instead, she let out an unhappy sigh and turned around. He watched her disappear into the hallways of the house and Riku walked into the kitchen. It smelled like fish--one that Riku couldn't think of right then.

He looked at the oven, which was lit up from inside, as it was cooking something. Probably the fish dish his mother had been finishing when he arrived. Trailing his fingers across the counter, Riku sighed. He learned to cook in this kitchen, with his mother when he was younger. It wasn't hard to remember that first dish--just a thing of fish and chips--but he remembered being proud of it.

Riku also remembered crowing about it to Sora and Kairi the next time he saw them.

"Riku." His father's cool voice came from behind him and Riku's shoulders instinctively tensed. "What do you wish to talk about that's so much more important than dinner?" He sounded as dismissive and disdainful as always. Riku's father made it an art form, really.

Seriously? "Dinner is still cooking. It's not like we can't eat it still." Riku crossed his arms as he turned around. "Though I'd rather not: Me and Kairi are going to be leaving tonight after all."

His father narrowed his silver eyes at him. "Riku, why exactly do you think you're leaving?" He asked, voice sharp like broken ice.

"Because I have a friend I need to find," Riku said, "And even if you tell me that you won't let me go, I'll go anyway. It's not like you can actually stop me from leaving." If they tried to lock him in, he'd just unlock the door with his keyblade and leave.

Of course, his father didn't take that well. "For someone trying to convince me to let let them leave, you're not doing very well." He drawled, eyes narrowed.

Like Riku cared. ...Alright, fine, he did care a lot but he still was going to leave no matter how his parents felt about it. "Look, I've dealt with a lot recently. All I want is to go and find Sora with Kairi and come home with him. That's all I want," Riku said.

_I'm not a child, not anymore._

His father opened his mouth to argue when the oven beeped. Bustling past them both, Riku's mother said, "How about we eat dinner and continue this talk afterwards, hm?"

When his father gave a look and a 'Hinako--', she gave him a sharp look. "Souji." She chirped cheerfully. "Dinner first and then we can finish this, alright." It was not a question.

(While his mother definitely fit the 'classic stay at home' mom, she was also the one who ruled the household. If she decided to make a ruling, you had to listen.

It still wouldn't stop Riku from leaving.)

Dinner was, of course, very awkward. They were sitting on an awful conversation, one that had already begun and wasn't going to end well. Not unless his mother made a decision and if she ruled in his father's favor, it still wasn't going to end well.

At least the food was good, Riku thought. It was probably the only good thing about this awkward meal. Especially as his father kept looking up and glaring at him from over his meal.

...Alright, so perhaps he wasn't actually glaring. But it felt like it to Riku. It made him incredibly nervous whenever his father got into this mood. Granted, this time it was because of Riku, yet that knowledge didn't make Riku any more comfortable.

If he had a say in it, Riku would've already left, dinner or no. But he knew that he and Kairi had agreed to meet fairly late into the night, back at the beach so he could lead her to where he hid the gummi ship. He'd rather be early though, than sit here in this awful atmosphere.

His mother cleared her throat. "Now then, shall we get this over with?," She said, hands clasped in front of her.

Riku internally winced at her tone before he cleared his throat. "Sora needs help, right now. Kairi and I are the only ones who can provide that--so I need to go and find him with her." He refused to mention that she break into the house to let him out.

"And why does it need to be you? Why not ask the island search to help find him?" His father crossed his arms in front of him, looking disapproving.

What did he think Riku was trying to do, flex his muscles to try and impress Sora? No way. "They won't be able to help," Riku said simply. It's not as if they could travel to other worlds to search for him. That was something only he and Kairi could do, right now.

His father looked ready to argue that point when his mother raised her hand. They both went silent and looked at her. "Souji, I doubt we're going to be able to stop Riku from leaving," she said, "So if we let him go with our permission....I think we'll have a better peace of mind."

Riku jolted, surprised. His mother was alright with him leaving? It was strange to hear that from her, when she was the one who had been the most distraught when he and Sora had returned the first time. He could never forget her crying all over his shoulder.

"Hinako, you can't be serious." Souji objected. "He's fallen behind in his studies to take over the business! And we still need to arrange a marriage--"

"No." Riku snapped. "I am not marrying someone I don't know, Father. Not someone you pick for me." He didn't want to be tied down to someone he could barely stand. The only people he wanted to be tied to were--well, he still didn't believe Kairi when she said she and Sora's feelings towards each other were the same ones they felt for Riku.

His father looked about ready to argue when Hinako spoke up. "Souji. Riku doesn't want to be a fisherman--he doesn't even want to take over the business." Hinako gave him a flat look. "There are others we can pass it on to, people who want to take over it."

Souji looked aghast at her suggestion and Riku stood up. He was done--with this conversation (and the meal). "I'm going, even if you don't want me too, Father." He turned and walked away, not even paying his father any attention when he stood up and yelled after Riku.

As soon as Riku's feet passed into the hallway, he ran to the stairs and jumped up every other step up to his bedroom. Riku thanked his lucky stars that the door had a lock as he locked the door behind him and started grabbing the few things in the room he actually cared for.

Behind him at his door, Souji was banging on said door. He could also hear his mother arguing with him as he did so and Riku shook his head. His father was too stubborn and Riku wondered if 

Ha, no wonder he made such terrible decisions in life. It's not like he didn't have a terrible example to follow.

Riku took the moment and slipped out the only window in his room. It was the same one he'd used to get out that night all when the Islands disappeared. How ironic, he thought, that he was leaving the islands the same way all over again.

He landed with expert ease and jogged away to the docks, his meeting place with Kairi. She wasn't there yet, but he had no doubt she was probably just dealing with her father. At least Riku knew his parents wouldn't be able to find him easily. Okay...well his father, not his mother.

Flopping down on the dock, Riku leaned an elbow on his knee. The sight of a cool and lovely island night wasn't a new one for him but ever since he had come back after the islands' destruction and restoration, he couldn't help but savor each and every one of them. He was especially eager to savor this one as they were about to leave.

Closing his eyes, Riku listened to the sound of the waves splashing against the beach. It was so...comforting, in a weird way, when the world didn't seem right. It'd hopefully feel right again when they got Sora back, but until then....well, Riku wasn't going to cry about leaving the islands.

Speaking of; Riku looked up as he spotted someone wearing pink bopping towards him in the night. Kairi had changed out of her mostly white and purple island wear into her adventuring dress coat. She was probably wearing her tank top and shorts combo underneath. Not that Riku was going to look.

Kairi slowed to a stop and leaned over as she took a few long deep breaths. Did she run all across the island to get here?

"Hey, Kairi." He greeted her weakly as he stood up. "How'd it go with your dad?"

She made a face and started signing. ^He tried to lock me in my room. I guess he forgot about my window--and also that my keyblade can unlock doors.^ Kairi rolled her eyes before pensively looking out towards the water.

Riku shook his head. "Sorry. Things didn't go so well with my parents either--My father didn't want me to leave either." He hesitated, wondering if he should ask what she was thinking so hard about but let it go: They had other things to be worrying about right now.

"Right, so. I left the gummi ship over by the raft--the entry to it is hidden underneath that old star," He said. Riku wondered if that star still lit up when someone touched it. He'd never understand how Sora's dad got that to work....

Kairi nodded along and the two of them gathered on Riku's newest boat. A 'welcome home' present from his parents. It was for the best as the old boat Riku used to use was basically a wreck at this point. That boat couldn't handle one person, let alone two.

He twitched as Kairi leaned her back again his. Riku flushed but didn't say a weird as he furiously paddled to the play island. The tip of the boat hit the dock and he leaned forward, tying the boat to the dock.

She laughed silently at his frantic attempts at tying the boat to the dock. Kairi reached forward and took the rope from his hands to tie it better. "Thanks." Riku murmured shyly.

^You need to ask for help more often, Riku.^ Kairi sighed after she finished, smiling softly. ^You know we'll always be there to have your back.^

Riku's smile was pained as he held out his hand to her. "Yeah, I know." I just worry about the day that comes when you won't be there. After all, no one could live forever.

Kairi leaned forward and hugged him tightly before the duo headed down towards the raft cove. Riku paused whenever Kairi faltered and glanced towards the secret place, clearly wanting to return there. But no, it was not the time for that.

(Yet he didn't know if she and Sora would ever really want to share a paopu with him of all people, like Kairi claimed they both did.)

The entry point to the gummi ship was hidden away just out of sight. Granted, no one who had left the islands should be able to see it as they had never left the world. Riku...really wanted to know how that work but when he asked Chip and Dale about it, all he got was a load of techno babble he didn't understand.

He bowed slightly to her. "After you, Princess," He said teasingly.

Kairi stuck out her tongue at him and poked his cheek before stepping into the green circle. Riku flushed as he touched his cheek, embarrassed. Why was everything Kairi did now throwing him off?

Riku sighed and followed after her. He could figure that out later, he decided as the world flashed and disappeared around him. Once he did, maybe he could stop getting so flustered by her every single time.

Opening his eyes, he watched Kairi run around the gummi ship with excitement. He grinned slightly and said, "You're excited about all this, huh?"

^Of course!^ She signed rapidly. ^I only got to be on the gummi ship a couple times and it's really interesting! I'm--just generally really excited of course.^ She smiled sorrowfully at the gummi ship's dashboard as she ran her fingers across it.

Sitting down at the main seat, Riku said, "Well, we'll probably be going through a lot of worlds here, to find a trace of Sora. Where do you think we should head to first?" He leaned back in his seat.

In a show of thinking hard, Kairi tapped her chin. ^Maybe...Yeah, let's try that out! Why not start with Radiant Garden?^

Riku blinked and then grinned at her. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea! Radiant Garden is a place Sora has been to so maybe there'll be some clues there. If not...well, we can ask Iezno for some help."

Kairi wordlessly cheered before she took her own seat behind Riku. He smiled at her over his shoulder and put his hands on the controls for the gummi ship. Here's hoping he'd be able to drive it just fine.

 _Wait up, Sora_ , Riku thought, _We're coming._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always had the headcanon that kairi was selectively mute as a kid. even before radiant garden fell.
> 
> also in regards to the whole cave drawing thing: i, myself, have destroyed things i find important because of something bad happening and I regret it afterwards.


	2. vrx; twilight decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta`d!
> 
> tfw u write almost 30 pages for ur first two chapters
> 
> rip
> 
> anyway hope u enjoy!!

Ven rolled over onto his back and stared at the starry sky. Once, that sky had been empty as the castle worked its magical defenses. Ven had never been able to see it and quite frankly he didn't want to. A sky with no stars wasn't a sky at all.

...The thought of a skies made him cover his eyes with his arm.

Why hadn't he done something? Back then...he should've followed after, even if he got hurt in the process. None of them should've let Sora leave without one of them. They were stronger together, their hearts keeping each other buoyed against the darkness. Why, why hadn't they gone with?

He groaned to himself again and crossed his arms over his face. His thoughts kept looping back to how Sora was still missing since he and Kairi had returned--Stars, had that been a kick to everyone’s gut. Kairi and Sora’s return, Namine joining them--of course they decided to have a party.

And then Sora vanished, leaving them to wonder what had happened. Wondering how he had disappeared and why. It was...rather depressing, honestly, not knowing what had caused it all to happen. And this was from _Ven's_ point of view, who was more of a bystander.

Ven wondered how Kairi was taking it. Riku, too. Probably...not well, if it's anything like how distraught Aqua apparently was when he and Terra had been lost. He hoped that Sora came back soon.

Sighing, Ven sat up and crossed his arms over his knees. At least the Land of Departure was doing better since Aqua had returned it from being Castle Oblivion. He supposed it must've healed from the damage Xehanort had done to it while it was sealed.

That was good: Ven wasn't eager to think about what their home would look like if it hadn't healed. Likely it would look like a wasteland but Ven let that thought go. He didn’t even want to imagine what that looked like.

"Ven? What are you doing up so late?" He looked over his shoulder as Aqua approached him. Further back was Terra, who was carrying something over his shoulder.

He laughed nervously. "Uh, I was just looking at the stars! That's all." Here's hoping she didn't probe him further. "What are you doing up?"

Aqua's cheeks went a soft pink as she glanced back at Terra. She cleared her throat. "W-We're just checking out everything to make sure it's all good." Her statement was punctuated by a nervous laugh.

Ven squinted at them suspiciously. That didn't look like something one used to check stuff out, to make sure it was good--what were they actually doing? "Uh. Are you sure?" He asked.

Terra put down what he was carrying just out of sight and said, "Ven, never mind that. Something's up--you don't usually come out here unless you're thinking about something."

"I come out here other times!" Ven cried. It wasn't like he only spent his time brooding under the stars, you know! He huffed and turned his head away from Aqua and Terra.

He faltered as he felt Terra ruffle his hair. "Seriously, Ven. If there's something up, you can tell us." Ven looked up at Terra with a frown and then looked away, his legs folded in front of him.

Terra's 'big brother' thing still managed to make Ven lower his guard. Which meant he had to spill his guts now. "Alright, you want to know what's wrong? I'm--If I had done something, Sora might still be here with his friends."

Both Aqua and Terra looked stunned at Ven's confession. He could already hear Aqua rushing to reassure him and Terra backing her up because that's what they always did. Even if Ven was right about something being his fault.

"Don't." Ven snapped and then immediately felt guilty. Especially as Aqua and Terra looked taken aback. "Sorry--Sorry, I....I know that's probably wrong but I can't just wave away how I feel about it. I can't just magically let it go, you know?"

Aqua stilled looked worried and like she wanted to reassure him yet Terra looked understanding. "--Okay. Ven. Maybe you need to travel for a bit," Terra said.

Ven blinked at Terra, feeling somewhat....surprised and bewildered by Terra in equal measures. It seemed even if Terra had been playing backseat while Xehanort had been in control he had still changed. Matured, maybe?

Either way, it made Ven feel weird because he...didn't think he changed at all.

"Why travel?" Aqua asked in Ven's steed.

Terra shrugged. "I don't--know. Change in scenery? Plus, you could check in on all our friends too, like Roxas and Xion in Twilight Town." He looked ruffled and embarrassed by them staring at him.

Aqua laughed softly and leaned back. "Alright, maybe a change of scenery would be good for you, Ven?" She smiled at him.

He smiled back and closed his eyes. Ven looked up towards the skies and thought about it. Maybe going to Twilight Town would be good for him, even only so he could get to know Roxas and Xion better--Plus, he could bond with Lea and Isa again after not seeing them in like forever.

Yeah...that sounded good. Ven grinned wide and hard at his best friends. "You know what, I think I will." He stood up with a spring to his step.

"Woah, right now?" Terra asked.

Ven snickered. "No, of course not! I'll do it tomorrow. So have fun on your...alone checkup time." He ran for it as he heard both of them yelp.

He might be a bit slow, but he wasn't as stupid to not realize that they were on a date, you know.

* * *

Roxas woke to a sunny morning and the smell of butter. 

He wrinkled his nose as he slipped out of bed and went downstairs. Xion was already at the table with Namine. The former was cheerfully chewing on buttered toast. Namine on the other hand was chewing on pancakes. Pancakes that Isa was making in the kitchen.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Lea teased as he appeared from around the corner. He was holding a bottle of syrup, which was probably for them, as he headed over to the table.

Roxas huffed. "Hey, don't be dumb." He jogged after Lea and took his customary spot next to Namine. Roxas' gaze fell on her shoulder, were her hair was tied into a shoulder ponytail. "Your hair looks nice, today." He blurted.

Namine blinked at him and Xion giggled quietly. "Namine's hair is always pretty, Roxas," Xion said serenely, "Though I do admit that the ribbon makes it look even prettier thant usual."

She nodded to the dark blue ribbon that was tied around Namine's hair. Namine flushed but smiled, tucking a few loose hairs behind her ear. The blonde had been picking to lots of colorful clothes since she had returned which--well, that was understandable.

Both he and Xion also had lots of colorful clothing--it was just that they tended to have less of Namine's frankly lovely outfit design proficiency. Which was fine--Namine deserved to choose as many outfits as she wanted to have, for always.

Plus, she just looked really good in colors.

"Roxas? Are you okay?" Namine tilted her head at Roxas and he flushed. He hoped he hadn't been staring at her like a giant dope.

He shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just--was thinking. So, what're you all up to?" Roxas looked at Lea and Isa when he said that, to make some effort to include the latter in conversations.

Lea shrugged. "Gotta head to work at the cafe--Isa has a shift at the library." He shot a grin at Isa who rolled his green eyes at Lea. For some reason that made the red head break itno laughter and all the younger trio of the five could do was shrug.

Weirdo, Roxas thought fondly.

"Well, I was going to go out to the train station." Xion spoke up. "I wanted to try out that camera Pence lent me--See if I'm any good at photography." She smiled sheepishly at the reminder.

Roxas had almost forgotten Pence had lent her his camera because she'd talked about wanting to try out photography. Pence had been so eager to have someone else to gush about photos with that he hadn't hesitated to offer it to her.

He grinned. "Yeah let's go! And--I'm sure he'll love all the photos you take."

Xion grinned back and the two went back to scarfing down their breakfast. Namine paused in her own eating and patted Roxas back when he choked on his food once. Isa scolded Roxas gently and he flushed at the scolding.

Namine finished first of course as she'd started first apparently. Not that Roxas would know for sure, seeing as he woke up last. Regardless she still hadn't gotten dressed, disappearing out of the room to change out of her cheery blue pajamas.

Finishing his two pancakes, Roxas followed in Namine's foot steps to also change his PJs. "You could be ready to go if you had changed earlier." Xion teased him as he left.

He rolled his eyes at her before he headed up the stairs. Roxas briefly looked at Lea and Isa's room before heading towards his own room. Picking around his closet he picked out some clothes that had been a gift from the fairies. They had been overjoyed to be able to make half a wardrobe for him, Xion, and Namine. Namine had ended up not keeping most of the proposed clothes while he and Xion had.

Maybe it had something to do with how they were enchanted in the case they needed to fight. Roxas knew that Namine, while she could use some magic, didn't much like fighting at all. It would be no wonder to thing she wouldn't want a lot of clothes that are specific to that end.

Roxas rolled his shoulders and left his bedroom. He spotted Namine's blonde hair heading down the stairs and he jogged to catch up with her. Namine and Xion were both waiting at the foot of the stairs for him and he grinned: Nice. "We're all heading out together, then?" He asked.

"I wanted to draw and I thought the train station would be a peaceful place to do that at." Namine murmured, clutching her art bag close to her chest.

He smiled at her, grabbing his skateboard from where it was leaning against the wall. "Sounds cool! So we're all ready to go then?"

Xion nodded, patting the camera bag on her hip. "I'm ready. Namine?" The blonde nodded and Xion smiled. "Alright, let's go then!" She said.

The trio called out goodbyes to Lea and Isa, who were still in the kitchen, before they headed out. Outside, the sound of distant crowds echoed to their tucked away home. Roxas kicked his skateboard just ahead of the two girls, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

At least Seifer and his gang were still gone. Stars and Hearts knew they were likely to bug them if they knew Roas and them were friends with Hayner. Or maybe he'd have matured beyond that while he was gone--though Roxas doubted that.

Shaking his head Roxas slowed to a stop at the foot of the final hill. "Hey, anywhere you want to sit and draw at specifically?" Roxas asked Namine cheerfully.

"Oh, anywhere up at the train station will be fine." Namine smiled as she passed him by. Roxas smiled back at her and picked up his skateboard. He and Xion walked the rest of the way up to the station in Namine's wake.

Roxas blinked as Namine was seated on the wall, bearing across the rooftops of Twilight Town. Xion was already pulling out her camera and aiming it across the horizon. Smiling to himself, Roxas lazily rode around the station on his skateboard.

It was really calming up here, wasn't it?

He looked up at the sky with a smile--before he saw something. Above their heads, there was a green streak spinning around the clock tower. It spun around a couple more times before whatever it was landed in the middle of the courtyard.

Roxas blinked at the armored figure on the weird skateboard like constuct. They stepped off the weird skateboard and their armor peeled away at the same time as the skateboard vanished in a flash. And there was Ven.

"Ven?" Roxas blinked at the sight of the other teenager. "What're you doing here?"

Ven looked up and grinned. "Hey, Roxas! I--Didn't think I'd see you so soon. And I'm kind of just on vacation I guess haha." He rubbed the back of his neck in a very Sora like way.

The reminder made his chest ache but Roxas smiled at Ven. "So you're taking a break from hanging around the Land of Departure?" Roxas asked, amused.

He laughed wryly. "Uh, sort of? I was...kind of brooding too much according to Aqua and Terra and needed a break? So I figured I'd do that." Ven glanced over to Namine and Xion. The former was intensely focused on her drawing.

The latter on the other hand...She was pointing her camera lens in Ven's face. "Hi, Ven!" Xion greeted him after she took a picture of him. "How're you?"

"I'm good! Nice to see you, Xion." Ven greeted her, rubbing his eyes from the flash.

Xion laughed. "Nice to hear! What're you doing here?"

Ven rubbed the back of his neck. "Vacation, like I was just telling Roxas. What're you guys up?" He tilted his head at Xion.

She raised her camera. "Taking photos. Namine is drawing--uh, what're you up to Roxas?" She asked curiously.

Roxas laughed nervously as he put on his foot on his skateboard. "Just...skating around. You guys wanted to do some creative stuff so..." He glanced over to where Namine was doodling.

He glanced back at Ven who seemed to be in thought. Roxas wondered if he'd been doing that a lot lately. It might explain why Aqua and Terra had sent him off on a vacation. After all, the other teenager wasn’t usually the broody time.

Tapping his fist lightly to Ven's shoulder, Roxas said, "Wanna hang with us today? We're not doing too much." 

Ven blinked but grinned. "Yeah, sure! Sounds pretty fun to me--Hey, Xion? When did you start doing photography..." His voice trailed off as Xion dragged him off, cheerfully telling him about her interest in photography.

Shaking his head to wryly to himself, Roxas went over to Namine's side and sat down next to her. "Hey, what're you drawing?" He asked resisting his urge to peer over Namine's shoulder at the sketchpad.

Finally pausing and looking up, Namine blinked in surprise at the sight of Roxas. "Oh, hi, Roxas," Namine said, "I didn't notice you. I'm...not really drawing anything all that interesting." She looked down at it with a sorrowful smile.

"I'm sure that's not true!" Roxas placed his hand on her shoulder. "All your art is pretty good, I think."

Namine flushed pleasantly, looked down at the drawing and then back up. "...Alright, you can see it. But only for a moment." She conceded, holding out her sketchpad.

He grinned briefly to himself before taking the sketchpad she held out. On the paper was not the horizon of Twilight Town, as he thought, but instead a drawing of Sora, sleeping somewhere he didn't recognize.

Perhaps it was stupid to think, but...it felt strange for Sora to not be here. He absolutely wouldn't let any of them be depressed, even if he had to painstakingly go on a quest to make sure of it. Granted, Roxas probably would've objected to that but well...at least Sora would be there.

Roxas handed it back to her, smiling sadly. "It's a good drawing," He said. It wasn't a lie either--it was a good one. It's just that there were quite a lot of heavy feelings tied to Sora right now: The primary one being sorrow.

"...Thanks." Namine smiled back at him, just as sadly. She looked down at her drawing and ran her feelings along the pencil marks. "I wish I knew where he was, so we could find him." She confessed to Roxas.

He let out a soft sigh. "I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the same." Stars, Roxas would probably be going out to find Sora himself if he had even the faintest idea where to start. Though, he mused as Xion and Ven approached them from the other side of the plaza, he probably wouldn't want to go alone.

Ven looked confused by their sad looks and said, "What's up, you two?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it, Ven." Namine responded--and then blinked. "Wait, Ven, when did you get here?" The look of total confusion made Roxas snicker quietly at her. She elbowed him gently.

This just made him break out into real laughter. "S-Sorry!" He snorted into his hands. "I just can't believe you didn't notice him until just now."

Namine huffed and shoved him again, gentler this time. "I was busy drawing, Roxas. Of course I didn't notice." She clicked her tongue at him before sticking it out at him. Then she glanced at Ven out of the corner of her eye and seemed to shut down.

Damn it, why did this still happen? He liked it when Namine was more open about her...well, everything. Her acting like this just reminded him that at one point Namine didn't feel safe enough to be open. Feel safe enough to be herself around those she wasn't close with.

Well, he thought as he decided to ignore it for now, they had time to work through that if she wanted to. They had the time to do things they wanted, time they never really had before.

"Anyway. What do you plan to do while you're here, Ven?" Xion asked as she tucked away her camera.

Ven rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I just thought I'd hang out with you guys. Take a break from all the other stuff back home." He made a face, clearly not wanting to think about that.

Shrugging, Roxas stood up. "Well, how about we just show you around for now? It's not like we have anything else to do--right, guys?" He glanced over at Namine and Xion, waiting for any disagreements from the two girls.

Namine seemed to think about it before shaking her head and closing her sketchbook. "I finished my drawings. Xion?" She looked at the dark haired girl.

For a long moment, Xion patted her chin in thought. "Hm...Well, I wouldn't say no to taking pictures of other places of Twilight Town." She grinned at them as Ven gave a quiet cheer.

Roxas nodded in agreement and they began making their way out of the station plaza. He led the way down towards the main shopping district and Xion paused here and there to raise the camera and snap a bunch of shots of them and the other people they passed. She of course took photos of just stores, but that was given, wasn't it?

When she wasn't taking photos, she was talking to Namine--though, in truth, she did sometimes speak to Namine when she wasn't distracted by photo taking. Usually, Roxas noted, when she was taking photos of Namine.

As they entered the main shopping district, they immediately ran into Olette. "Roxas, Namine, Xion!" She chirped, approaching them. Olette stopped when she spotted Ven and tilted her head with a confused smile. "Ven, what're you doing here?"

"Oh, hi, Olette!" Ven waved hello. "I'm just...visiting, I guess?" He laughed nervously.

Olette giggle. "You guess, huh? Well, it's nice to see you anyway." She turned to Namine and the two immediately fell into conversation about fashion.

Ven looked mystified. "I don't understand anything they're saying." He declared after a few minutes of staring.

"Don't worry, neither do we!" Xion laughed as she gave Namine a fond smile. "They talk about this stuff all the time. I don't think I've ever heard Namine speak so much to someone other than me and Roxas."

That was true, Roxas reflected. Namine was normally very quiet and perhaps timid with others. He, Xion, and Olette tended to be the exception. Granted, there were of course, times when even he and Xion were only meant by tired smiles from Namine.

Honestly, it made Roxas blood boil when he thought too hard about all the things Namine went through. The only thing stopping him from blowing half of Radiant Garden's castle apart, hopefully taking Ansem out with it, was that it wouldn't help Namine at all. Bringing Ansem up in any capacity wouldn't help.

Ahead of him with Olette, Namine turned to him. "Olette is right, you'd like better in darker colors, Roxas." She declared.

He blinked. "Uh. Okay?" Where had that come from, anyway? Maybe that was true but Roxas had no idea if that was true or not for sure. It’s not like he knew anything to disprove their claims.

Next to him, Xion snickered at his confusion. She laughed louder as he pointed an unhappy finger at her. Meanwhile Ven seemed to be trying to keep up with Namine and Olette's talk. Good luck to him, Roxas thought.

Finally they arrived at Scrooge's restaurant, where Roxas knew at least one of their two legal guardians would be working at, at the moment. He still thought it was a little strange that they'd had to register as being Lea and Isa's foster kids. It's not like he, Xion, and Namine weren't used to running around on their own already.

Roxas said, "Hey, have you been here before, Ven?"

Ven jolted at being addressed and shook his head. "No. This is technically my first time here." He smiled wryly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You got here straight from the Land of Departure despite never coming here before?" Xion asked, sounding impressed.

He seemed to get flustered at that as the teenagers stopped near the restaurant. "Uuuh, that's not exactly the case. I had to stop here and there to try and figure my way out here." Ven gave Xion a wry smile, as if to apologize for giving the wrong impression.

She shook her head. "Still, though. I haven't even figured out how to make my keyblade do that rider thing, let alone how to navigate the Lanes Between."

Roxas cleared his throat. "In fairness," He said, "Gummi ship travel is a little better for us as we usually travel in groups, anyway." He shrugged with a light laugh.

They all exchanged looks and nodded in agreement: While keyblade riders were dang cool, gummi ships were just better for them. After all, who needs to travel alone when you want to stay or travel with your friends?

* * *

Xion leaned over and snatched a couple of fries off Roxas' plate. The blond squawked at the theft and shook a fist at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and peered around at the group.

Hayner and Pence had arrived shortly after they had. Xion had gratefully thanked Pence for letting her borrow his camera and he had waved his hand. As always, he simply told her that he had multiple cameras and that letting her borrow one was no big deal. Which--well, fair. It might not be a big deal for him but it was for her.

She liked taking photos. There was just something about having physical evidence of something that happened that made her happy. That reassured Xion, somehow. It was probably silly but she still like dhow she could get her friends to smile when she took photos of them, too.

(Granted, at the moment, she had mostly taken photos of Roxas and Namine--but they were her boyfriend and girlfriend, so that was fair, right? Right.)

She shook her head. "So, Ven, is there anything you wanna do while you're here?? Most of it is just stuff like watching movies or hanging out like this." Xion asked their visitor.

The blond shook his head. "I guess I just wanted to come and hang out--so stuff like this is perfect." Ven grinned, dimples showing, and Xion smiled back.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't curious why Ven had been pushed to go out. Aqua and Terra had come off as protective of the blond so whatever it was must've been extreme. Xion wondered if it had anything to do with--No, it probably wasn't Sora.

Sora was a subject that she, Roxas, and Namine had avoided since they got together in Twilight Town. Not because they didn't care about the brunet--but because they did care. They cared enough that if they did talk about it, she knew that someone would run off.

Xion's thoughts leaned towards her being the first to run off. She didn't like that fact that he wasn't here to enjoy the peace much at all--and felt somewhat to blame that he was gone. When he had come back with Kairi, they had all thought he was mostly okay.

Her, though? It had felt wrong. Something had been wrong with Sora and she hadn't said a word. How could Xion not feel guilty for not saying something? If she had, Sora might still be there.

The Sora related train of thought made her mood plummet, though she kept her smile up as she watched Hayner heckle Ven into telling him about some of the worlds he'd been to. Her mood might be in the gutter now, but at least it wasn't affecting her friends.

She jolted as she felt a soft hand on her elbow. "Xion?" Namine murmured, pretty blue eyes shining. "What's wrong?"

Oh, geez. Namine always knew, huh? "It's nothing too bad, Namine, I promise," Xion said softly.

"...Do you want to talk about it somewhere else?" Namine asked, nodding away from their friends. Olette and Pence had noticed their hushed mutterings and were now looking at them in concern.

Xion grimaced to herself but sighed. Namine wouldn't let it go unless she said yes, so the dark haired girl nodded once. Namine turned to the table. "Xion and I will be right back, okay?" She told them before they pushed away from the table and hurried away, just out of sight behind the candy turned moogle synthesis shop.

Namine stared at her grimly. "Okay, Xion, what's wrong?" Her hands were clasped around one of Xion's.

"...Namine, you know I knew something was wrong with Sora, right?" Xion blurted out suddenly. She felt bad in the next instance because she just broke their unspoken rule to not talk about Sora.

Yet the blonde didn't say anything about that; she just nodded. "I know. But why is this coming up now?" Namine's expression clearly read that she was just as upset about Sora as Xion was. Unlike Xion, though, she seemed more interested in finding out how Xion felt about it.

Which she thought was obvious, but...

Xion sighed. "I was trying to think of why Ven might have left the Land of Departure. You know how Aqua and Terra are, it would have to be important if they told him he should leave. All I could think of was Sora..."

Namine hummed. "What about Vanitas?" She asked, not questioning why Xion had jumped to Sora.

She shook her head. "I think if it was about Vanitas, Aqua and Terra would double down." As much as it pained her to admit, she knew the duo didn't trust Vanitas at all. They were likely thankful he was gone while Xion...

Stars, she could never admit she kind of missed the hurting boy. There had been no one else around her age in the Organization at the time--no one who could understand the pain of longing for people who either didn't remember you or didn't want you.

Xion missed him and she would never see him again.

"That's fair enough." Namine continued, oblivious to Xion's thoughts. "So then--what do you want to do about it?"

Do...about it? Xion blinked. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Namine tilted her head, her blue ribbon bouncing with the motion. "You want to help Sora, right? So why not ask Ven if he wants to go and help Sora too?" Her honest question made Xion freeze.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who had come to the conclusion that she would want to help Sora. "I...I can't leave you and Roxas." Xion confessed.

The blonde nodded in acknowledgement and closed her eyes. Xion wondered what she was thinking, if she was okay if Xion did leave. Because Xion did and didn't want to leave--She loved Roxas and Namine too much to just leave, but Sora...Sora could use some help.

"Alright. Here is me, giving you my permission to leave with Ven to go find Sora," Namine said, opening her eyes.

Xion stared. "I--What?" Xion asked, dumbfounded.

Namine sighed. "Xi, you need to do this, even if it's only for yourself. But...You know, I think you should talk to Roxas about this before you talk to Ven. He might surprise you." Namine smiled, leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

While Xion was stunned into confusion, the blonde hurried back to the table. Xion stumbled after, face flush with confusion. The others mistook her flush for embarrassment and teased her about Namine, whom smiled serenely when Xion gave her a look of betrayal.

They delved back into conversation while Xion thought about what to do. She didn't want to leave--but she also didn't think she could live with herself if she didn't do something to help Sora. So obviously the answer was to find Sora and come back as soon as possible, right?

That seemed like the most obvious answer. Yet...she still felt hesitant to go through with it. She'd have to talk with Roxas, just as Namine had suggested, if she was going to feel at ease with leaving at all.

She blinked as she felt Pence briefly poked her shoulder. "You okay?" He asked, peering at her.

"Uh--Maybe." Xion laughed wryly, glancing around the group. None of them seemed to have noticed their conversation. She continued. "There's just something I need to think about."

Pence eyed her for a moment before nodding seriously. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here." He grinned at her and she smiled back. 

It was nice to have someone largely uninvolved in all their problems to lean back on. That there was someone that would be willing to be there to talk to but also was willing to let her just figure it out on her own.

Xion clicked her tongue as she heard Ven joke about something to Roxas and the latter gave him a light punch to his arm. They snickered together and Xion smiled as she leaned forward, elbow on the table as she cradled her chin in her hand.

"Hey, Ven, do you want to see the old mansion?" Xion blurted out suddenly.

The blond looked up, surprised and said, "Sure! Where is it?" Ven looked around in confusion.

That's fair, she thought, it's not like it was in Twilight Town proper. Before she could tell him that, Namine said, "It's in the outskirts of Twilight Town--You used to be able to get there through a hole in the walls around town, but..."

Next to them, Hayner said, "Yeah, you have to get to it through...well, the sewers now." He made a face at remembering the gross way of getting to the old mansion.

Ven blinked. "What, seriously?" He looked confused. "Why isn't there a way out without going through the sewer?" Ven asked.

Pence shrugged. "Who knows? I think the government doesn't want us leaving because they can control us better if we're in town instead of out." He gave the distant capital building a suspicious look.

Olette sighed. "Not your conspiracy theories again..."

Offended, she and Pence descended into an argument about the so called conspiracy. Hayner shook his head with a sigh and shrugged at the others, as it to say 'what can you do.' It seemed he was way too used to these arguments.

Xion laughed quietly to herself before turning back to Ven. "So, do you still wanna check it out?" She asked seriously.

He blinked and laughed as well. "Yeah, sure! I know it's kinda gross, but I'm curious about that mansion now." Ven glanced around the other teenagers around the table, looking relaxed. 

"We've got time--if you want to check it out now." Roxas shrugged, trying to look casual. Xion eyed him and wondered why he wanted to go there so badly. If there were was any place Roxas didn't want to go to, the mansion should've been one of them.

She let it go. After all, there were other things to be worried about right now. "Sounds good to me--As long as everyone else is okay with it?," Ven said as he looked around the group.

Hayner groaned and leaned his chin on the table. "I can't--got a shift of work to do in a hour and then I've got homework." They all made faces at the reminder of the homework they all had to do.

Pence nodded in agreement. "The three of us were going to do our homework after Hayner's shift. Sorry." He shot them apologetic looks.

"That's fine," Namine said calmly, "The four of us can go instead."

Four? Xion shot Namine a concerned look as well: While Xion herself held no negative feelings about the mansion, she knew that Roxas definitely did and Xion had no doubt Namine also did. The fact that they both were totally alright with heading out to that mansion...

Xion tucked some of her loose hair behind her ear. "Alright, so we can head out then?" She tilted her head toward them.

"Sounds good." Roxas stood up and stretched, rolling his shoulders.

She raised an eyebrow. Why was he so excited to go the mansion? Though, excited probably wasn't the right word for it...Xion sighed internally. Whatever, she needed to let it go.

Ven stood up and the rest of the followed suit. Namine touched her elbow as Hayner, Pence, and Olette said goodbye. Xion glanced over at the blonde and tilted her head to her. Namine flushed briefly in embarrassment before mouthing 'tell him' as she nodded over to Roxas.

Clearing her throat, she said, "Hey, Roxas, there's something I wanna talk to you about on our way over--is that okay?"

Roxas shot her a surprised look before he said, "Of course it is, Xion?" He seemed baffled that she even asked. Well, whatever, she was used to just asking to well...talk since her time with the Organization.

Xion smiled at him in appreciation as they headed towards the sewers. The four teens peered down into the darkened entrance of the sewer. "It, uh, smells interesting." Ven noted as he slipped down into the sewer.

Namine gently poked Xion's shoulder and nodded at Roxas before quickly jogging after Ven into the sewer. Xion flushed but nodded after her. She'd start the conversation now, while they were ahead of them.

"Roxas." Xion mumbled lowly as they followed in Ven and Namine's footsteps. "About that thing I wanted to talk to you about..."

He glanced at her and nodded. "What's up? What did you need to talk to me about it?" Roxas’ head tilt was kinda cute but she ignored that for the moment.

She gave him a tiny smile. "It's...about Sora." Xion hesitated as she looked after Ven. "I was going to go with Ven and look for a way to find Sora. Or even to just find him." Nervously, she clasped her hands over her heart, letting out her last breath of fresh air.

Roxas stopped where he was. Xion faltered and glanced at him over her shoulder before she returned her focus onto the path ahead of her. She stopped too, waiting for Roxas to speak.

It took what felt like a whole minute before Roxas said, "Okay, Xion. If that's what you think you need to do, then do it, okay?"

Xion hear him walking towards her and just past her. All the while she felt like she had messed up somehow--and wondered if she wasn't making a mistake. Namine had been okay with it but...Roxas had always hated how much they relied on Sora. Maybe this would just end up feeling the same to him.

She kept her hands clasped against her chest as she trailed after the other three teenagers. The smell of the sewer burned against her nose and throat and she stuck out her tongue in disgust. This would never not be gross, she thought, focusing on that instead of her feelings about the situation.

They stepped out into the trees. There was a soft breeze that hit her face and Xion let out a breath. The fresh air of the forest was nice, considering the disgusting smell of the sewers they'd passed through. They jogged along the paths, though Xion found herself glancing over her shoulder in case of heartless and nobodies.

It was silent in the forest. The peace made Xion close her eyes as they made their way further down the path. Some of the trees had fallen since her last time here and it had been just long enough for plants to start growing over them.

She wondered how long it had been, truly, since she was last here.

The mansion appeared through the trees and they eyeballed the gate. It was open, as it had been since....well, it seemed for forever. She was actually surprised it was still unlocked like that and hadn't been locked since Sora's last two adventures through the worlds.

Xion blinked as Roxas rolled passed her--he was riding his skateboard of all things. How he managed to do that across dirt and grass, she would never know. She jogged after him, overtaking Ven and Namine.

"What do you want to see first?" Xion asked as all four reached the front doors. "There's a library, a lab, some rooms..." Her eyes flicked over to Namine as she mentioned the last one. One of those rooms...used to be Namine's.

She let the thought go to the wind and grinned at Ven as the blond seemed deep in thought. After a moment, he said, "I kinda wanna see that library. And maybe the lab too?" Ven seemed embarrassed but eager to see this lab she'd mentioned.

Turning to Roxas, she said, "So, Roxas, how do we get into the lab?"

Roxas flushed. "I--I'll show you when we get there!" He huffed and pushed the door open, rolling into the main hall.

Xion and Namine looked at each other and burst into giggles. Ven blinked in bewilderment and trailed after the giggling duo as they headed in as well. Their giggles cut off as they accidentally sucked in dust and broke into coughs.

"Ugh." Xion muttered, rubbing her throat. "Coughing is terrible."

Namine nodded in agreement. "The mansion wasn't dust free when I lived here last, but it wasn't this bad either..." She tugged lightly on the end of her ribobn.

Ven glanced over. "You lived here, Namine?" He asked, surprised.

She hesitated before nodding. Xion watched as she shrunk inside her shell, fearful of remembering the past that she wasn't fond nor proud of. She slipped over and slid her hand into Namine's.

"What's taking so long?" Roxas' voice echoed from above them and he peered down at them from the second floor. He frowned when he spotted Namine curled up into herself. "...Namine, do you want to stay here?"

Namine shook her head but didn't say a word. Xion looked up at Roxas and nodded: Namine wasn't likely to leave them alone in here and they shouldn't leave her either. He nodded back.

"Sorry," Ven said apologetically, "I...didn't know."

Xion shook her head. "It's...well, it's not fine, but we know you didn't mean anything malicious when you asked." Unlike many of those she had worked with in the Organization or run into during recon missions for the same said organization.

Ven looked like he was going to push it before he glanced at Namine and faltered. He ended up nodding in--she wasn't sure, solidarity?--before he jogged up the stairs to Roxas. Xion herself stepped up to Namine's side and said, "Do you want to check out your old room or...just move on?"

Namine clasped her hands in front of her. She studied the hallway opposite of the library, the one that led to her room before she shook her head. "No, I don't think I do," Namine said before she turned away and headed towards the library as well.

Taking her at her word, Xion followed them up the stairs and to the library. She eyeballed the huddle of blonds and tilted her head. "Are we going into the library...?" Xion asked, bemused by the huddle.

Roxas stood up and flustered, embarrassed for some reason or another. Jeez, she'd only be separated from them for a moment, what could've happened? She sat back and watched as Roxas pushed the thick oak door open.

At Roxas' shoulder, Ven peered into the room. "It's...dusty." He mused.

Unsurprising, Xion thought, considering how dusty the rest of the mansion was. She slipped pass them and into the room, looking around the library shelves against the walls. All of the books had unlabeled spines and she frowned.

"They're...all empty." She muttered as she started flipping through books. Did Ansem the Wise really just have a library filled with empty books? ...Actually, that sounded exactly like something he'd do.

Namine sighed. "Yes. Sorry, Ven. I don't know if you were hoping for more but..." She gave him an apologetic look.

He shook his head. "It's fine! I guess I'm not too surprised." Ven smiled wryly as he looked at the shelves.

Xion looked up as she stuck another book onto the shelves. "Why's that?" She asked.

Ven shrugged. He glanced around. "It's supposed to be hiding a lab, right? So, yeah, there probably isn't a lot of real books, huh?"

Roxas made a noise of agreement before waving Namine and Xion back towards the library entrance. He pulled out a pen and scratched something onto the desk station in the center of the library. In the next moment, the floor shimmer and began vanishing from the far wall towards the entrance.

Jogging back, Roxas peered down into the lab. "Looks like the lab has seen more use than the rest of the mansion, recently." He noted.

"Probably Pence, Hayner, and Olette." Xion noted, remembering what Ienzo had mentioned about working on bodies for Roxas and Namine. They hadn't needed the one for Roxas, in the end, but the one for Namine had been worked on extensively to ensure that her heart would transfer over from Kairi when she and Sora had returned.

Xion blinked as Roxas jumped down into the lab. The three of them exchange looks before following him down into the lab. Dust was kicked up into the air and Xion coughed and waved a hand in front of her, to try and get the dust away.

Roxas had stopped in front of the main computer. He stared down at, his expression twisted into a strange pinched look. Xion eyeballed it: That wasn't a good expression, she decided.

She glanced at the computer as well but turned away from it. "There's more stuff in here," Xion said as she walked past Roxas and towards the rooms where Sora, Donald, and Goofy had been sleeping, a year ago now.

With a hum, the other three teenagers followed her. Roxas trailed at the end, peering back towards the computer. Xion blinked as she stepped into the white hallway. Going from a dark gray room to the blinding white would never not screw with her eyes.

The white hallway was coated in more dust than the rest of the mansion. "Careful, it's pretty dusty here." She tossed over her shoulder as she pressed a hand to her mouth and nose.

As they pressed on, Xion noticed Ven stopping in front of one of the pods. She turned back to him, surprised that the older blond seemed interested in them. "Ven, what's wrong?" She called out to him.

He looked up slowly, almost as if he was moving through water. "Sorry--Sorry, I got distracted." He glanced back at the pods. "They kind of looked familiar, is all."

"They're from Castle Oblivion." Namine noted from Xion's side. "You might've seen them on the Land of Departure." Which--made sense, if Xion was honest. After all, wouldn't these pods have disappeared if they were tied to only Castle Oblivion?

Ven nodded briefly before turning around. "So what else is here?" He asked, with curious tilt of his head.

Roxas slipped past Xion to the main pod room. He stopped by the door and stared at it, as if he couldn't believe what was in front of him. "Roxas...?" Xion muttered, stopping at his elbow.

He jolted and shook his head. "Sorry. Right--Sora was here, before." His lips were twisted into a frown, as if trying to ignore the exact events that had led him to this room. Xion couldn't--wouldn't--blame him for that.

She trailed in after Roxas as he led the way into the room. Stopping at the doorframe, she stared at the massive pod in the center of the room. It looked almost like a massive lotus bud, though the appearance was ruined by the opening to the inside of the pods.

Next to her, Namine clasped her hands against her chest with a soft sigh. "It's been a long while since I was here." She leaned against Xion's side and Xion shifted her stance to better hold both of their weights. "I used to draw here, when I needed the extra time to concentrate."

Her expression was wistful as she stared at the pale room. Xion wondered if she missed that time but she didn't ask her. It wouldn't be right to ask her that at the moment--when she comes back, Xion decided, she'll ask Namine about it.

Xion stepped forward and ran her hand along the outside of the pod. It was smooth, even along the edges. Almost like what she thought an egg should feel like despite the fact that the egg was rough to the touch.

Closing her eyes, Xion nodded to herself. She needed to tell Ven now, before she lost her nerve.

"Hey, Ven?" Xion turned around, leaning against the pod. "You're going to go looking for Sora, aren't you." It's not a question. She's not stupid, after all.

Ven's head snapped over to her, surprised. He shifted from foot to foot before he said, "N-No, I'm not." His denial fell flat and the trio each gave him disbelieving looks. He sighed. "Okay, fine, I am. Are you going to try and convince me to let it go too?"

He sounded so unhappy and irritated about the notion that it was, perhaps, the first time Xion had thought he sounded like Roxas. Not that she would ever tell Roxas that: He would probably just pout for a long while if she did.

"No, I'm not." Xion hesitated and straightened: Now was the time to ask.

Yet, to Xion's bewilderment, Roxas stepped forward. "Xion is probably going to ask this too but--I want to find Sora as well." His expression was twisted with a sorrow she hadn't seen since she had 'died' a year ago.

Namine didn't look surprised as Xion was as she glanced at her. In fact, she just seemed understanding. As if she had already known what Roxas was going to ask beforehand. Had she and Roxas talked about this before?

Was this why she hadn't even blinked at Xion's own desire?

Ven looked as surprised as Xion was. "What--Wait, both you and Xion want to find Sora?" He glanced over at her, surprised.

Xion jolted, flushing in further surprise. "I--Yes, I want to find Sora as well. I figure, if you were going out to look for him, there would be strength in numbers." She shot a look at Roxas, as if to accuse him of not telling her earlier he wanted to look for Sora as well.

"Alright." Ven paused. "Yeah, I'll be looking for Sora while I go to other worlds. Do you, really, want to come..?"

Nodding slowly, Xion glanced to Namine, who just raised an eyebrow at her. Ugh, why did both her boyfriend and girlfriend have to hide something like this from her? Didn't she deserve to know?

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, we do. But I bet you want to look around Twilight Town for a couple more days first?" Xion grinned as best she could when she felt like people she cared about didn't trust her.

(They did trust her...right? There's no way they could love her but not trust her, yeah? So of course they trusted her. Of course.)

Ven grinned back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so atm the two groups are;
> 
> kairi and riku.
> 
> ven, roxas, and xion.
> 
> [also i might’ve made a blog for this au lol](https://dont-think-twxce.tumblr.com/)


End file.
